Machine for marking mail-matter



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. WOODWARD. MACHINE FOR MARKING MAIL MATTER. No. 469,004. Patented Feb.16, 1892.

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' E. WOODWARD.

MACHINE FOR MARKING MAIL MATTER.

No. 469,004. Patented Feb 16, 1892.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet a. E. WOODWARD. MAGHINE FOR MARKING MAILMATTER.

No. 469,004. Patented Feb. 16,1892.

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I if one letter was UN TED STATES ERASTUS IVOODIVARD, OF SOMERVILLE,ASSIGNOR BROTHERS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PATENT OEEIcE.

O BARRETT MACHINE FOR MARKING MAIL-MATTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,004, dated February16, 1892.

Application filed April 30, 1891- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERASTUS WooDwARD, of Somerville, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Marking Mail-Matter, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for printing postmarks andcancellation-marks on pieces of mail-matter, in which the pieces to bemarked are passed one at a time between a printing roll or member and animpression member.

The invention relates, particularly, to the means for insuring thepassage of only one piece at a time between said printing and impressionmembers, the object of the invention being to insure the proper printingof each piece, and to prevent such interference with the proper printingas might be caused superposed upon or overlapped another in passingbetween the printing and impression members.

The invention consists, chiefly, in the com bination, with two parts ormembers which are adapted to intermittingly grasp and move forward theletter or other piece of mail-matter, and are separated after theiraction on each piece, of a stop which is adapted to arrest the letter ata given point between the said feeding members when the latter areseparated, thus arresting the letter in position to be grasped by saidfeeding members when they become operative, said stop being retractedand permitting the letter to be moved onward when grasped by saidfeeding members, and another stop which is arranged in advance of thepoint where a letter is to permit the access of grasped by said feedingmembers, and is adapted to arrest a succeeding letter while said feedingmembers are co-0perating in moving a letter grasped by them, thuspreventing more than one letter from reaching said feeding members atthe same time, the last-mentioned stop being made inoperative the letterretained by .it to the space between the said feeding members when thelatter are separated. In the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portion ofa machine em- Serial No. 891,043- (No model.)

bodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a top View of the same. Fig. 3represents an elevation of the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1. Fig.4represents a side view of a modification. Fig. 5 represents a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, showing the parts in different position.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, referring first to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5, arepresentsasuitable supporting frame or base, and 1) represents asubstantially-horizontal table or platform having ears at one endpivotally connected to a shaft 0,. the opposite end of said table beingfree to rise and fall, and/supported by a spring (I. k

6 represents a roller or pulley, which is mounted upon a shaft e,journ'aled in bearings on the table h. f represents a similar pulley,which is mounted upon the shaft 0.

g represents an endlessband or letter-carrier, which is mounted to runupon the pulleys ef, the upper portion of said band being above thetable I).

t' represents a segmental roller, which is affiXed to a shaft t",journaled in fixed bearings on the supportingframe, the periphery i ofsaid roller being concentric with said shaft. The arrangement of thesegmental roller '5 is such that when the roller rotates its peripheryalternately approaches and recedes from the portion of the band g thatis supported by the highest part of the pulley c. When said periphery isat its nearest approach to said band, it co-operates with the band ingrasping and moving forward a letter Z, which may be resting upon theband. When the periphery of the segmental roll passes from the band, aspace or opening exists above the band for the reception of anotherletter.

172 represents an arm, which is affixed to a rock-shaft m, and isadapted to be oscillated so that its outer end, which is bent upwardly,as shown in Fig. 3, will alternately stand be low the highest part ofthe band g, as shown in Fig. 3, and above the same, as shown in Fig. 5.When the arm on is raised above the band g, its upper end standsinposition to arrest the forward end of the letter Z at the point wherethe periphery of the roll 91 first commences to co-operate with the bandg in grasping'the letter. The arm on is oscillated vertically by meanspresently described, and its movements are so timed relatively to thoseof the rotation of the segmental roll t' that when the said roll isseparated from the band 9, as above described, the arm on israi-sed andconstitutes a stop to arrest the forward end of the letter, so that itcannot advance beyond the point where the periphery of the rollcommences to grasp it. At the moment that the periphery of the roll 't',moving in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, strikes theletter Z and commences to co-operate'with the band g in moving theletter progressively, the arm m is depressed below the band g, so thatit no longer obstructs the letter, but permits the free movement thereofby the conjoint action of the roll t' and the band will be seen,therefore, that the arm m'determines or times the movement of eachletter out from between the roll 2' and band g, and

for this reason I call said arm a timing-out stop.

The arm or timing-outstop m maybe given the described oscillatingmovements by any suitable means, the means here shown being as follows:The rock-shaft on, supporting the arm m, is journaled in a fixed bearingin the frame of the machine and has affixed to it at the end oppositethat which supports the arm m another arm or lever m which is held by va spring m against a *cam' 0, affixed to the shaft 2",which carries thesegmental roll, said spring m being secured atone end to a fixed stud mand at its forward end toa short arm m affixed to arock-shaft m. The cam0 is formed to alternately raise and depress the arm m and with it thestop-arm m, the latter being thus alternately raised and depressed, asabove described.

To prevent the access of more than oneletter at a'time to the pointwhere the roll 2' cooperates with the band g, I provide a device to timethe entrance of the letters to the space between the roll *5 and theband g when the periphery of the roll is separated from the band, and Iterm said device a timing-in stop. Said timing-in stop is here shown asan arm 19, affixed to a rock-shaftp', which is journaled in suitablefixed bearings and is provided with another arm 19 which is held by aspring 19 against theperiphery of a cam on the shaft t", the spring 19being attached at one end to a fixed stud p and at its other end to anarm p affixed to the rock-shaft p. The timing-in stop 19 is alternatelyraised and depressed by the means described, and when depressed bears onor is in close proximity to the upper surface of the letter Z, which isgrasped by the roll 2' and band 9, asshown in Fig. 3, the stop beingdepressed to saidposi- 'tion at-the moment that the roll I: commences toco-operate with the band gin feeding a letter, and remaining in saidposition during the entire period of co-operation of said roll and band.After the segmental periphery of the rollt has been separated from theband by the rotation of the roll and the timing-out stop has been raisedto arrest a letter entering between said band and roll the timing-instop is raised to permit the passage of the letter last arrested by itforward to the timing-out stop, the timing-in stop being raised longenough to permit one letter to pass under it and then depressed to forma barrier for the succeeding letter, the letters being fed into themachine so that they follow one another in a procession, as usual inmachines of this class. It will be seen that the timing-out stopaccuratelydeterminesthe position of each letter with reference to therollt' and insures the contact of the periphery of said roll with theletter at aun-iform point inall the'letters that are passed through themachine, so that in case the printing mechanism is affixed to or formedon the roll 'i, as may be the-case, the printing will be com-menced'oneach letter at a uniform distance from the advancing end thereof, sothat there will be nouncertai-nty or variation in the location of themarks printed on the letters. The same result will be produced in casethe printing-roll is separate from the segmental roll 2', as shown in.Fig. 4, hereinafter described, in which case the advantage gained bythe employment of the timing-out step will be due to the fact that itcauses the intermittently-feeding devices to present each letter to theprinting devices at a given point, thus insuring thepr-inting of eachletter at a uniform distance from its advancing end. It will also beseen thatthe tim ing-in stop, by preventing the access of more than oneletter at a time to the point where the periphery of the rollco-ope-rates with-the band g, prevents any possibility of imperfectprinting arising from the overlapping of one letter "upon another duringthe printing operation.

I have shown in Fig. 3 an auxiliary device co-operating with thetiming-in stop, said device being an arm r, arranged at the opposite IIOside of the path through which the letters travel from the timing-in.stop, so as to bear against orbe in close contact with the under sideof the letter that is passing under the timing-in stop, as shown in Fig.3. Saida-rm r is attached to asleeve r, (shown in dotted lines in Figs.1 and 3,) saidsleeve being mounted upon the rock-shaft m and freeto'rotate independently thereon. The spring 7 attached at one end to anarm r on the sleeve r and at the other end to a fixed stud r acts tonormally press the arm r upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3. Thearm risdepressed from said position when not in operation by means of anarm p affixed-to the rock-shaft p, and another arm r affixed to IIS 'shaft 2" ing bed, which rises to the position shown in Fig. 3 when thetiming-in stop is depressed and constitutes a yielding support, whichpresses the letter being moved by the roll t' and band g closely againstthe timing-in stop, and thus prevents another letter from passing undersaid stop so long as the latter is depressed, the arm 1" being depressedbelow the band g when the timing-in stop is raised.

In the construction above described, the band g is a conveyer, whichoperates in substantially the same way as the band shown in the Ethridgepatent, No. 323,799, and in this case the printing-surface may beaffixed to the segmental feed-roll 2' or to its shaft i, or may be apart of said roll 2', said segmental roll and the traveling band 9constituting letter-feeding members, which alternately grasp and releasea letter presented to them and feed a letter forward a predetermineddistance while they are grasping it.

My invention is not limited, however, to intermittin gly-operatin g feedingor letter-grasping members, it being my intention to cover,broadly, the combination of timing-in and timing-out stops arranged tooperate, as above described, in connection with anyintermittingly-operating letter grasping and feeding devices, whethersaid devices form parts or include printing'mechanism, as would bethecase if the printing-form were affixed to the or are separate from theprinting mechanism, as in the construction shown in Fig. 4-, which Iwill next describe.

In Fig. 4 I show the timing-in stop 19 and the timing-out stop m,arranged to operate in connection with a cylindrical feed-roll g, takingthe place of the band g, and a segmental feed-roll 2', arranged toco-operate with the roll 9. Said rolls g and a are arranged to act in avertical letter receiving and guiding throat 8, into which the lettersare dropped, so that they reach the said stops and rolls by gravitation,instead of being carried byaconveyer, as in the construction firstdescribed. Below the feed-rolls g and z' are arranged a printing-roll tand an impression-roll t, to which the letters are presented by saidfeedrolls, the printing-rolls being positively r0- tated and caused topositively move the letters forward while printing them. In this casethe means for operating the timing-in and timing-out stops may be thesame as in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

I do notlimit myself, however, to the means herein shown and describedfor operating said stops, but may operate the same in any suitable way.Neither do I limit myself to the construction of theintermittingly-operating letter grasping and feeding devices here shown,but may use said stops in connection with any devices that are adaptedto intermittently close upon and feed a letter and to then separate topermit the free insertion of another letter between them.

I claim 1. The combination of a letter grasping and feeding devicecomprising two parts or members which are separated at intervals topermit the free insertion of a letter between their acting surfaces andare brought into operative relation, so as to grasp said letter at agiven point, said members having a feeding movement, whereby they arecaused to progressively move a letter grasped by them, a timing-out stoparranged to arrest a letter at the point where the acting surfaces ofthe feeding members first co-operate in grasplng the letter, meanswhereby said stop is moved into the letter-path between said memberswhen the latter are separated and out of said path before the letter ismovedby said members, a timing-in stop arranged to arrest a letterbefore it reaches the point where the feeding members first grasp it,and mechanism whereby said timing-in stop is made operative to arrest aletter while the feeding members are moving a preceding letter and ismade inoperative when said feeding members are separated, as set forth.

2. The combination of a progressively-movingletter-conveying belt,asegmental roll, the

periphery of which is caused by the rotation of said roll to alternatelyapproach and recede from the carrying-surface of said belt, saidperiphery being arranged to co-operate with the belt in grasping andprogressively moving a letter when at its closest approach to the belt,a timing-out stop which is adapted to arrest a letter between said rolland belt when the same are separated and is retracted when the roll andbelt grasp a letter, and a timing-in stop adapted to arrest aletter onthe belt at a point in advance of the roll when the latter is inoperation, thereby permitting the engagement of two letters at the sametime by the belt and roll, said timing-in stop being released andmade'inoperative when the roll is separated from the belt, as set forth.

3. The combination of two intermittent-lyoperating separableletter-feeding members, a timing-out stop arranged to arrest a letterbetween said members when they areseparated, a timing-in stop arrangedto arrest a letter at a point in advance of said members when they areoperating, and a movable arm or bed adapted and arranged to yieldinglypress a letter against the timing-in stop, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, twosubscribing witnesses, this 24th day of April, A. D. 1891.

C. F. BROWN, EWING W. HAMLENV in the presence of

